Skynet 2-29-20 “Daylight Saving/Messier Marathon” & “The Phases of Venus” 9PM CT |

March 5
GSLV Mk.2 • GISAT 1
Launch time: 1213 GMT (7:13 a.m. EST)
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 2 (GSLV Mk.2), designated GSLV-F10, will launch India’s first GEO Imaging Satellite, or GISAT 1. The GISAT 1 spacecraft will provide continuous remote sensing observations over the Indian subcontinent from geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth. Delayed from Jan. 15 and February. [Feb. 25]

March 6
Soyuz • Falcon Eye 2
Launch time: 0133 GMT on 6th (8:33 p.m. EST)
Launch site: ELS, Sinnamary, French Guiana
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designated VS24, will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry the Falcon Eye 2 high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates. Built by Airbus Defense and Space with an optical imaging payload from Thales Alenia Space, Falcon Eye 2 is the second of two surveillance satellites ordered by the UAE’s military. The Soyuz 2-1a (Soyuz ST-A) rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from Oct. 15 and November. Switched from a Vega launcher after the launch failure with the Falcon Eye 1 spacecraft. [Jan. 10]

March 6/7
Falcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 20
Launch time: 0450 GMT on 7th (11:50 p.m. EST on 6th)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 22nd Dragon spacecraft mission on its 20th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The flight is being conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed from Oct. 15, March 1 and March 2. [Feb. 25]

March 11
Falcon 9 • Starlink 5
Launch time: Approx. 1440 GMT (10:40 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the sixth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 5. Delayed from January, Feb. 14 and March 4. [Feb. 24]

TBD
LauncherOne • Inaugural Flight
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California
A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will make its first orbital test flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Delayed from early 2019 and summer 2019. [Dec. 13]

March
PSLV • RISAT 2BR2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), designated PSLV-C49, will launch the RISAT 2BR2 radar Earth observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization. The PSLV will also launch four Kleos Scouting Mission radio surveillance nanosatellites for Kleos Space, a Luxembourg-based company, and multiple Lemur 2 CubeSats for Spire Global. The mission will likely use the “Core Alone” version of the PSLV with no strap-on solid rocket boosters. Delayed from December. [Feb. 11]

March
Long March 3B • Beidou
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Xichang, China
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket will launch a satellite for the country’s Beidou navigation network toward geostationary orbit. [Feb. 16]
Recent Astronomical Discoveries
Astronomers Detect Biggest Explosion in the History of the Universe
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200227114459.htm?fbclid=IwAR2tHzj6X3_fF0NFvEw7iMEmMad39DGG3B10CCxSXQYLtqYOXxj9apRd6ms

Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

LightSail 2
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=44420&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Mar. 6
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=44420&mjd=58915.0900446306&type=V

Mar. 8
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=44420&mjd=58917.0812310468&type=V

North Korean Satellite
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=39026&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Mar. 1
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58909.516280273&type=V

Mar. 2
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58910.4985474727&type=V

Mar. 5
https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=39026&mjd=58913.5101331813&type=V

Envisat
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=27386&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST